Setiawan was stuck on a toll road in Jakarta as he headed for the Lion Air flight at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, a trip he told the Agency France Press wire service he takes on a weekly basis.

"I don't know why the traffic at the toll road was so bad," Setiawan told AFP. "I usually arrive in Jakarta at 3 a.m. but this morning I arrived at the airport at 6:20 and I missed the flight."

Setiawan, an official with Indonesia's finance ministry, ended up taking another flight to an airport in Pangkal Pinang, in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province.

Twenty of his colleagues were believed to be on the flight that crashed, according to the finance ministry.

Setiawan learned of the crash once he landed at the Pangkai Pinang airport, and said he cried when he heard the news.

He then called his family, to let them know he was safe.

"My family was in shock and my mother cried, but I told them I was safe, so I just have to be grateful," he said.